No Survival Effect in Cell Lines with Different Growth Factor-Induced Division Rates, but with Different Fractionation Schemes

The aim of this work was to investigate the relationship between the growth rate of tumor cells and their fractionation gain. Two head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) cell lines, one human papillomavirus (HPV) negative (HPV−) and one HPV+, and a primary fibroblast cell line were supplemente...

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Main Authors: Lena Blanke, Laura S. Hildebrand, Rainer Fietkau, Luitpold Distel
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-04-01
Series:Radiation
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2673-592X/5/2/14
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author Lena Blanke
Laura S. Hildebrand
Rainer Fietkau
Luitpold Distel
author_facet Lena Blanke
Laura S. Hildebrand
Rainer Fietkau
Luitpold Distel
author_sort Lena Blanke
collection DOAJ
description The aim of this work was to investigate the relationship between the growth rate of tumor cells and their fractionation gain. Two head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) cell lines, one human papillomavirus (HPV) negative (HPV−) and one HPV+, and a primary fibroblast cell line were supplemented with four different concentrations of fetal bovine serum (FBS) to achieve different division rates. The effect of five different fractionation regimens was studied, namely 1 × 10 Gy, 2 × 5 Gy, 3 × 3.3 Gy, 4 × 2.5 Gy, and 5 × 2 Gy. Survival was studied using the colony-forming assay. Different concentrations of FBS were used to achieve different doubling rates for all cell lines. The HPV+ cell line was significantly more sensitive to radiation than the HPV− cell line in all fractionation schemes. The fibroblast cell line was less sensitive at low fractionation compared to the tumor cell lines. Low fractionation had a significantly higher effect, except for 5 × 2 Gy fractionation, which had a higher effect than 4 × 2.5 Gy. The number of radiosensitive mitoses during irradiation in the fractionation scheme could not explain the higher effect of 5 × 2 Gy. There was no difference in survival with the four different concentrations of FBS in all three cell lines and different fractionations. The doubling time (DT) rates of cell lines resulting from FBS deprivation do not reflect the expected increased radiation sensitivity of rapidly dividing cells.
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spelling doaj-art-0afa142ff69d417588fe51433eea8a402025-08-20T02:21:50ZengMDPI AGRadiation2673-592X2025-04-01521410.3390/radiation5020014No Survival Effect in Cell Lines with Different Growth Factor-Induced Division Rates, but with Different Fractionation SchemesLena Blanke0Laura S. Hildebrand1Rainer Fietkau2Luitpold Distel3Department of Radiation Oncology, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Universitätsstr. 27, 91054 Erlangen, GermanyDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Universitätsstr. 27, 91054 Erlangen, GermanyDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Universitätsstr. 27, 91054 Erlangen, GermanyDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Universitätsstr. 27, 91054 Erlangen, GermanyThe aim of this work was to investigate the relationship between the growth rate of tumor cells and their fractionation gain. Two head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) cell lines, one human papillomavirus (HPV) negative (HPV−) and one HPV+, and a primary fibroblast cell line were supplemented with four different concentrations of fetal bovine serum (FBS) to achieve different division rates. The effect of five different fractionation regimens was studied, namely 1 × 10 Gy, 2 × 5 Gy, 3 × 3.3 Gy, 4 × 2.5 Gy, and 5 × 2 Gy. Survival was studied using the colony-forming assay. Different concentrations of FBS were used to achieve different doubling rates for all cell lines. The HPV+ cell line was significantly more sensitive to radiation than the HPV− cell line in all fractionation schemes. The fibroblast cell line was less sensitive at low fractionation compared to the tumor cell lines. Low fractionation had a significantly higher effect, except for 5 × 2 Gy fractionation, which had a higher effect than 4 × 2.5 Gy. The number of radiosensitive mitoses during irradiation in the fractionation scheme could not explain the higher effect of 5 × 2 Gy. There was no difference in survival with the four different concentrations of FBS in all three cell lines and different fractionations. The doubling time (DT) rates of cell lines resulting from FBS deprivation do not reflect the expected increased radiation sensitivity of rapidly dividing cells.https://www.mdpi.com/2673-592X/5/2/14fractionation gainhead and neck squamous cell carcinomaHPV negativeHPV positiveprimary fibroblastsgrowth rate
spellingShingle Lena Blanke
Laura S. Hildebrand
Rainer Fietkau
Luitpold Distel
No Survival Effect in Cell Lines with Different Growth Factor-Induced Division Rates, but with Different Fractionation Schemes
Radiation
fractionation gain
head and neck squamous cell carcinoma
HPV negative
HPV positive
primary fibroblasts
growth rate
title No Survival Effect in Cell Lines with Different Growth Factor-Induced Division Rates, but with Different Fractionation Schemes
title_full No Survival Effect in Cell Lines with Different Growth Factor-Induced Division Rates, but with Different Fractionation Schemes
title_fullStr No Survival Effect in Cell Lines with Different Growth Factor-Induced Division Rates, but with Different Fractionation Schemes
title_full_unstemmed No Survival Effect in Cell Lines with Different Growth Factor-Induced Division Rates, but with Different Fractionation Schemes
title_short No Survival Effect in Cell Lines with Different Growth Factor-Induced Division Rates, but with Different Fractionation Schemes
title_sort no survival effect in cell lines with different growth factor induced division rates but with different fractionation schemes
topic fractionation gain
head and neck squamous cell carcinoma
HPV negative
HPV positive
primary fibroblasts
growth rate
url https://www.mdpi.com/2673-592X/5/2/14
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AT rainerfietkau nosurvivaleffectincelllineswithdifferentgrowthfactorinduceddivisionratesbutwithdifferentfractionationschemes
AT luitpolddistel nosurvivaleffectincelllineswithdifferentgrowthfactorinduceddivisionratesbutwithdifferentfractionationschemes